GEORGE W. Bush has announced that he will support legislation banning
employers and insurance companies from discriminating against people on the
basis of genetic tests. It鈥檚 the first time he has spoken out on the issue since
he became president five months ago.
In his weekly radio address, he equated discrimination based on genetic test
results with bias against race, age and gender. 鈥淕enetic discrimination is
unfair to workers and their families,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is unjustified . . . because
it involves little more than medical speculation.鈥�
Tom Daschle, leader of the Democrats in the Senate, tried to pass an
anti-discrimination bill last year, but it was defeated by the Republicans. In
February of this year, he introduced another bill, which would forbid employers
from using information from genetic tests to hire or fire employers, or to
dictate other terms of employment. It would also forbid insurers from using
genetic information to raise premiums or deny or restrict coverage. Victims of
discrimination would also be able to sue for damages. If it gets Bush鈥檚 support,
the bill could be passed by the end of the summer.
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That would bring the US into line with European countries such as Austria,
Denmark and the Netherlands, where insurers are banned from using genetic
information. In Britain, by contrast, insurers can use information from approved
tests for diseases such as Huntington鈥檚. But the issue is so controversial that
companies have adopted a voluntary moratorium.
Both the UN and Europe have produced declarations condemning genetic
discrimination, says Sandy McCall-Smith of Britain鈥檚 Human Genetics Commission:
鈥淭he question now is how governments are going to translate these ethical
statements into actual protection. The US is obviously very important in that
谤别驳补谤诲.鈥�